Outside, scooters are lined up. Inside, wrenches, lubricants, and rags are in active use. There is tinkering and screwing on motorcycles and scooters this beautiful summer evening in July, where more than 20 young people have gathered at Otterup Scooter Workshop.

However, the most important things being repaired cannot be measured in horsepower or tools.

– Our vision has from the beginning been to offer a safe space for many young people, especially for those who need a place to belong, says Klaus Madsen, who is the chairman of Otterup Scooter Workshop and one of the initiators.

Together with six other volunteers, he keeps the workshop open two evenings a week for young people aged 13 to 21 from Nordfyn.

Alongside his work as an assessor and family life with three children, he finds time to be at the workshop several evenings a week.

– We are here because we enjoy it, and we want to be with the young people. None of us get paid for it. I feel that it is rewarding to do something for others, says Klaus Madsen.

Daniel Larsen shares the same feeling. He has been part of the workshop's regular volunteer team since 2020 and enjoys the feeling of making a difference.

– I like to leave here after a club night feeling that I have made a difference for a young person. Whether it's a young person with a problem with a motor or someone who needs to talk, says Daniel Larsen.

The young people can bring scooters, bikes, electric scooters, cars, and whatever else they have that can be 'worked on'.

The volunteers experience that the young people come with both joys and worries, and that the workshop often becomes a place where there is also room for difficult conversations about education, work, and life in general.

– The young people become part of a community where they enjoy each other's company and ours as volunteers. We take the time to listen to them and understand the challenges they may have, says Klaus Madsen.

A place where young people belong
Now the workshop has the opportunity to expand its activities. Fonden Sol og Strand, represented by Margit and Kjeld, has donated 45,000 kroner to the Scooter Workshop's activity fund, which will allow the young people to go out and experience everything from cinema trips and go-karting to lectures, communal meals, and excursions around Denmark.

– Many of those who come here are not used to such activities. With the funds, we can organize some great events that help support the community. We also have young people who cannot afford to pay the annual fee of 250 kroner, and we can now help them thanks to the donation, says Klaus Madsen.

For many of the young people, the workshop has become a favorite anchor in their daily lives. Here, they meet others who share an interest in engines and mechanics, but they also find a community that extends far beyond the workshop's four walls. This is also true for Benjamin Døssing, who on this Thursday evening is busy polishing his moped. It is to be sold so he can upgrade to another model.

– I have found a place where I can come and do what I enjoy. I can be with others who are interested in the same things as me. We also have a good community, says Benjamin Døssing.

Over the years, the volunteers have met young people who have struggled with a difficult upbringing, mental health issues, or substance abuse. In the workshop, they meet adults who have time to listen and believe in them. For several, it has been the beginning of a new direction with part-time jobs, apprenticeships, or education.

– They are some fantastic young people who come to the workshop. Many started coming here feeling a bit out of place, and then they end up getting an apprenticeship. Today, several have become carpenters, bricklayers, blacksmiths, and painters, says Klaus Madsen.

This development helps give the volunteers the motivation to continue their work. When the young people return week after week, and later meet the volunteers in town with a smile and a "hi," it is, according to Klaus Madsen, the best confirmation that the effort makes a difference.

– That is really what warms us and makes us even more passionate about it, he says.

 

 

The health clinic in Burkina Faso was set to close in February 2022, but Fonden Det Nytter has since been able to cover the operating costs.
The scooter workshop was established in 2019 by Kim Grøn Christensen and Klaus Madsen as an offer under Nordfyns Youth School. Both are trained mechanics and initiators of the Night Owls in Otterup, where they got to know many of the area's young people. In 2023, the scooter workshop became an independent association. Today, the workshop is run by seven volunteer adults, who open for young people between 13 and 21 years from Nordfyn two evenings a week.